Hysteria

Seven singles. Seven goddamn singles on this record. That’s insane. And thanks to a very kind and awesome 5th grade teacher who let us listen to cassettes during class… I have these tunes ingrained in my membrane. I “sang” Pour Some Sugar on Me over the phone to my first girlfriend at her request. She dumped me the next day. Okay, the timing here’s not exactly true but it didn’t last and it couldn’t last because when all is said and done, Love Bites. (At least in the 5th grade.)

I have a weird relationship with rock music. The majority of my favorite albums EVER belong to rock and its subgenres. I love rock!! However, a lot of the biggest rock bands ever are bands I don't enjoy in the slightest. When you say you like rock, a lot of people think of these arena bands from the 80s, like Def Leppard or Bon Jovi. But this is EXACTLY what I DON'T mean when I say I love rock. These 80s pop hair-metal bands do not sound good. The way they overproduce their music is sickening; it's really too much. It's irritatingly poppy. The music is engineered to be sickeningly cheesy and sweet. These bands are obsessed with their cool image more than anything, and it shows. Every single song is a painfully cliché and cringeworthy "anthem", and they're all indistinguishable from the others. The lyrics are uninspired. The formula is so overdone here. It's exactly like Halloween candy: a piece of candy is fine once in a while, but once you grow out of adolescence, the thought of eating a bucket full of candy in one night makes you want to vomit. This album is a bucket full of cheap, over-processed junk candy, and it was really hard to enjoy more than a minute of it, let alone a whole hour of it.

In 2022 ‘Hysteria’ feels like the most ridiculous album. It sounds all of the $4.5 million that it reportedly cost to make. It’s shiny, gleaming, glossy, expansive, excessive, bloated, monolithic…over produced, probably 20 minutes too long; and yet I still really like it because despite all my criticisms, the album is a heap of big, dumb fun. It reaches for your jugular, doesn’t let go for the duration, and demands you have a good time, which ultimately you will. Truly ‘Hysteria’ is to hair metal what ‘Thriller’ is to pop.

Massively clichéd, ludicrous lyrics, teenage hair metal, pointless forgettable solos and generally indistinguishable from a dozen other 1980s middle of the road rock bands, (in this case from Sheffield but trying to sound like Americans). It's OK in small doses, just letting it wash over, but nothing stands out or grabs my attention; the songs aren't strong enough to transcend the limitations of the genre. Plastic rock.

Where Pyromania had set the standard for polished, catchy pop-metal, Hysteria only upped the ante. Pyromania's slick, layered Mutt Lange production turned into a painstaking obsession with dense sonic detail on Hysteria, with the result that some critics dismissed the record as a stiff, mechanized pop sellout (perhaps due in part to Rick Allen's new, partially electronic drum kit). But Def Leppard's music had always employed big, anthemic hooks, and few of the pop-metal bands who had hit the charts in the wake of Pyromania could compete with Leppard's sense of craft; certainly none had the pop songwriting savvy to produce seven chart singles from the same album, as the stunningly consistent Hysteria did. Joe Elliott's lyrics owe an obvious debt to his obsession with T. Rex, particularly on the playfully silly anthem "Pour Some Sugar on Me," and the British glam rock tribute "Rocket," while power ballads like "Love Bites" and the title track lack the histrionics or gooey sentimentality of many similar offerings. The strong pop hooks and "perfect"-sounding production of Hysteria may not appeal to die-hard heavy metal fans, but it isn't heavy metal -- it's pop-metal, and arguably the best pop-metal ever recorded. Its blockbuster success helped pave the way for a whole new second wave of hair metal bands, while proving that the late-'80s musical climate could also be very friendly to veteran hard rock acts, a lead many would follow in the next few years.

This album was so satisfyingly awful. I knew I would hate it going in, and every song confirmed my prejudice.

This is a fun one. Just ridiculous 80s butt rock and soft metal. Tons of great shredders and power ballads. Kinda weird that they are an English band though. They would like they are straight from the sunset strip to me.

Awwww I haven't heard Def Leppard in a long time and this was so much fun to hear again. Perfect bit of hair rock I needed. I ended up listening to the album three times throughout the day. Can't beat a bit of cheese rock to brighten a dull day.

Underneath the hood this is a quietly insane record - the kitchen sink production, Joe Elliot's nonsensical stream-of-consciousness lyrics, the mere fact that the drum patterns had to be configured for three limbs - wild. Its subsequent success is the cherry on top. If you don't like melodic hair metal, it's an automatic one or two star, right? I do, though - and all the Mutt Lange bells and whistles are still a pleasure to behold.

I can't believe I have to gatekeep fucking Def Leppard's Hysteria. But first, yes the sound is very late 80's and peak Hair Metal. But that doesn't take away from its achievements including 7 charting singles. Not impressed? This album was so monu-fucking-mental that it produced those singles in a time period of 1 1/2 years. In today's music that's enough time for the current pop-ranked singers backed by an excel spreadsheet of writers and producers to reinvent themselves three times over. Not enough? Fine. Let's remove a drummer's arm. This is DL's first record in the four years following the accident that claimed drummer Rick Allen's arm. He relearned how to play the drums on an electric kit designed for him for this purpose. And finally, this album fucks. This album fucks so hard that the people giving it shitty dad-rock ratings probably don't recognize that could have been conceived to this album. 5 out of fucking 5 🤘

I too am surprised with how much I enjoyed this album! I started off listening to it with my brother on a Thanksgiving road trip. We took turns reading the lyrics and laughing at their silliness; I mean, "Red light, green light, yellow light, go!" says it all. Then the songs started sticking in my head. When we arrived at our destination, I listened to the album again whilst shooting pool—a perfect Def Leppard scenario, I think. And the transition from ironic-love to genuine-love for DL's Hysteria took hold. I began to appreciate the boldest, largest moments on this album just as they're presented ("God of War," for instance, is fan-friggin-tastic!) And soon I was mumbling "Red light, yellow light, green light go" and "You got the peaches, I got the cream" to myself without any concern or conscious, and much to my brother's chagrin. I couldn't exactly explain to him why I all of a sudden thought this album was great, and I agreed fully with all of his complaints. I just liked it! For many of the same reasons he didn't to be honest. So there you have it. I would say this album is too long, because it assuredly is, but it has too be! I couldn't imagine this insane, maximilist, balls-to-the-wall, tongue-not-even-in-mouth-let-alone-cheek, a record being any shorter. What's unfathomable is how tight the songwriting and production still manages to be in spite of all this album's late-80s, obscene, excesses. I can best describe the sound of this album as if the members of Slayer performed an Eagles cover, with, yes, a twist of Michael Jackson. Which, come on! It's so cool! Four stars!

Honestly this is jam packed full of catchy shit. Everything is pretty big, really well-written, perfectly executed, etc ec. The vocal harmonies in particular are where they really stand out I guess - and the way they meld with the guitar melodies so well. Production is flawless, if a little declawed, but it really is just a crystal clear, perfect little slice of late 80s production. It's openly cheesy as shit, just puts itself right out there celebrating the big hair/sleaze look - it's almost like they knew hipsters in 2021 would go into conniptions in the knowledge they can't stop it existing already. ha. Criticisms: Excitable is a dead set awful song, and Don't Shoot Shotgun isn't far behind. Also, it feels like the whole album could have been one long song - great for cohesion, and might have been amazing at 30min... but 60? They could have trimmed the fat and I probably would've given it a 5/5. That being said, it's been fun to listen to this again in full, haven't heard it beyond the hits in a good 10+ years. 4/5.

More classic tracks than I realised. Pretty good album for their first album with a one armed drummer.

Pop trying to be metal. I understand why it was popular in its day; tough dudes felt like they could like a "rock" band that still got ladies to shake it. Song writing is solid pop writing and production is over layered and over compressed....but I guess that became the iconic def leppard sound. "Run Riot" had interesting time changes between straight and half time, and the verse also had an interesting odd meter time signature thrown in every 4 bars or so.

Hair metal is big, dumb, and bad

Great Album, each song is good and sounds like it belongs into a huge stadium show and best of playlist. Album itself could do with being 15 min shorter

Didn't realize how many Def Leppard songs that I knew came from this album

I was pretty ready to give this a 1 or 2 expecting the album to be super cheesy from start to finish, but some pretty big nostalgia kicked in. Love Bites really got me feeling like Johnny Lawrence reminiscing about the 80s. It was so weird to hear Ronald Reagan clips in "Gods of War" because it sounded so dated but so close to home in the horribleness at the same time.

I really don't want my metal to sound acceptable to my mother. Give me more Slayer and less Bon Jovi. And NWOBHM is the single worst name for a musical movement ever, so it is a no from me.

What in the smokemachinehairspraypowerstance-hell is this album doing on this list. Get in the bin.

1st album I ever purchased.

Truly a classic

There is some genuine artistry to be respected in Def Leppard, and their story of overcoming adversity is very heartwarming. But the cheese factor is so very strong.

Exactly the production sound I hate - the pop metal soundtrack to a Chuck Norris made-for-TV movie or a 3rd-rate strip bar, or perhaps a Chuck Norris made-for-TV movie set in a 3rd-rate strip bar. Singer is awful, songs go on far too long. Barely a tune on here amongst all the leering and screeching. Not enjoyable even in a cheesy '80s sense, but harmless. Kiss are far worse.

This album reminds me of the review for Spinal Tap’s “Intravenus de Milo” album: “They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry.“

Shout out to the album cover. That's the best part. The fact that 8/10 of the similar artists section on Apple Music also have black and white group band profile pics that look the exact same as theirs says a lot about how unique and special this music is. I honestly struggled really hard finding a song I’d be happy having in my best of playlist. Just boring and loud.

New Wave gets an unfair reputation for 80s cheese when bands like Def Leppard exist. They have all of the inspiration of 70s hard rock and metal with none of the substance. My first thought was "Oh god this is the album with Pour Some Sugar On Me" swiftly followed by "Oh god, it's 62 minutes long". You will definitely feel those 62 minutes, and somehow Pour Some Sugar On Me is the best song here. The rest of the songs for the most part feels indistinguishable from one another, if you've heard any mid-late 80s glam metal then you've heard this entire album.

I'm really hating it and I don't think I'll finish it. This shit is cringey as hell. Some of the guitar work is good though. Hair metal was a mistake and I don't think it's OK. animal is almost not bad. it's growing on me and i want it to stop, love bites.. pour some sucks. Not good overall, maybe influenced some good music.

Maybe I’m rounding up, but I’ve gotten used to turning up the knob with every song. Really interesting filler samples made this album memorable.

This was probably the album I enjoyed the most on this list and allot of the songs I heard the weekend before getting this album because Def Leppard always comes on at the end at after parties with my brother. So this is as biased as it gets. It's Peak 80s Glam metal, it's cheesy, catchy and positive. Including almost all their hits in one album. there were 3 tracks I didn't get into out of 12 so personally it can't be anything but a 5 I feel Run Riot is a more unknown banger people miss on this album!

There are a lot of popular bands from 1980's Britain that didn't make a huge splash on the radio station I grew up listening to: Pet Shop Boys, the Smiths, the Specials, the list goes on. Def Leppard is not one of those bands. What the hell is side 1 of Hysteria: tracks 2 through 6 all get regular play on that aforementioned radio station, as does the title track. Loudwire states that "from the start, [Mutt Lange's] goal was to help create the most commercial hard rock album of all time." That, and reading about how everything was recorded separately and meticulously processed into the sound we hear, should be reason enough to be disgusted with this project. Yet, like Lange's earlier credit, Back in Black by AC/DC, Hysteria's one idea somehow gets repeated across every track without losing steam. I accept that glam metal had to die, but I'm glad we got this album before grunge took over. I don't know if I've heard a Def Leppard song written post-1990, but Lange pivoted to Shania Twain and Bryan Adams to keep up his winning streak. Let's go Canada... I guess? HL: "Animal", "Love Bites", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", "Armageddon It", "Gods of War", "Run Riot", title track March 5, 2025

Pretty amazing pop-hard rock magic. Definitely has it's own sound and lot of catchy tunes. Though absolutely POP, it still holds up well.

I remember vividly the first time I heard the first single from this album: "Women." I got chills. Mind you, I was barely ten years old. But I'd been listening to Def Leppard (through my older sisters) since they bought the Pyromania LP in 1983. MTV really made Def Leppard for me. And then there was such a long wait... (4 years is a long time when you're ten). The drummer lost an arm... But the video for "Women" came on MTV... I was amazed. Rick Allen playing drums... Joe Eliot looked different. His hair was blonder. Longer. What an album. Every song could be a hit. I think the best one, the most underrated, is "Gods of War." But as a whole, the album is among my favorites.

I’m a big fan of Pyromania. Surprisingly I had never listened to this follow up album before. I didn’t realize how many of these songs I remembered from the radio until I started hearing them, so most of the album was at least somewhat familiar. I love that Def Leppard shimmer! ————————————————————————- Random thoughts: Interesting that “Love Bites” originated as a Country Ballad… listening to it now I can hear how that could work. I’m surprised I couldn’t find a country cover. “God of War” shows that anti-war-hair-metal-protest music works! Effective and interesting mixing of tempos, rhythm and melody on songs like “Don’t Shoot Shotgun.” When they start cranking it up you really feel it! “Armageddon It” is possibly the best metal pun ever. I haven’t listened to Hysteria in a long time and was struck by how lovely it is. A lot more going on in this song than I remembered or gave it credit for. ————————————————————————- With age I’ve gained greater appreciation of 80s hair metal and Hysteria is right up there with the best of them! I see a lot more of this in my future.

I knew this was Def Leppard's biggest album but I didn't realize that basically every song became a classic from Love Bites to Animal to Hysteria to Armageddon It. Lots of bangers and the epitome of hair metal

Never thought I'd give Def Leppard a 5 stars...

I can no stress this enough...this album is one of the greats. Just a joy to listen to hits that represent an era of rock. This is why this collection of albums was written.

Def Leppard suffers from the problem a lot of music of the 80s has: a lot of it sounds extremely similar! For some, that might not deter them from rocking out, and I respect that. This album is full of absolute classics and a lot of mush that sounded like every other generic 80s rock song. I tried to put myself in the context of the time period. Crazy haired, glammed out rockstars putting on a wild show. This kind of music defined the 80s, for better or worse, and I think seeing a Def Leppard concert at their peak would’ve probably blown my mind. I’ll be nice and round my 3.5 up to a 4.

I have a huge soft spot for 80s hair bands and an enormous amount of respect for the drummer continuing to deliver with just one arm. Def Leppard falls just short of 5 stars for me even with their biggest hits and it seems like most of those were on this album. I totally rocked out in my car, though.

This might be the best glam/hair rock album I've heard so far. It was just fuun from beginning to end. Still not my thing so only a 4, but I wouldn't mind listening to it again. Strrrong 4 tho

Bands like Def Leppard are weird cuz it rips but it’s also quite campy at times. And I hate when I can’t help but enjoy it. Something about the DL choruses just really hook me.

“Hysteria” was tipped to me by a trusted nerd as fireworks, but I didn't expect to play it four times over a busy weekend. Their song structures still elude me - is it as simple as having passable riffs doubled with slightly-too-high soccer terrace chants, broken up by dueling solos and peculiarly placed pauses and instrumental lurches? Simon, is this my prog? Def Leppard were a laughable proposition at every stage of my early sink into music, too ridiculous and preened when I was experimenting with metal, even more ridiculous and obviously corporate whorish when I was gorging on grunge and pre-grunge, and not even a consideration when I moved into what my wife calls “boiler music” (“This sounds like a boiler”). Apart from the hair, my lasting impression of them before this weekend came from Rick Allen's guest-appearance on the popular British children’s program, “The Sooty Show”, which made me think he’s a nice dude, one unusually natural when jamming with a band of glove puppets. The band’s name is a successfully more-stupid homage to that of Led Zeppelin’s. My research indicates that many of this record’s participants were often drunk, heavily drunk, during this important time of their lives, though perhaps not so drunk in the studio, which has me wonder how this affected the songs. There is a boozy optimism to this record, and most of the lyrics work very well if you imagine slurring them off your face: the chorus of “Animal” cries to be grunted and bellowed. Lyrics have the mystical quality of an insistent pub lush, an unspoken “you all know what I mean” hanging at the end of each line. The music has mood swings - sweeping choruses trip into stomping marches, impressionistic instrumentals jump-cut to air-horn versification - and the general sense of not always being aware of where to go next, usually resolving with an impassioned football-chant chorus or a guitar rockslide. Played at super-low volume, the shrillness of the drums pierce unpleasantly, but maybe they need this to stab through layers and layers of absurdist guitar. These guitars are a joy with their many whooshing, dramatic sounds; like a hairspray Sonic Youth! I am also reminded of peak Ted Nugent, but without the paedophilia, which I hope we can agree is a plus.

So Def Leppard’s debut album “On Through The Night” came out when I was in high-school in 1980, and as a rock guy, I really liked their sound – especially when compared to a lot of the new wave and punk music that was coming out at the time… It was heavy and raw, but had that AOR FM station appeal back then… Their follow-up album “High & Dry” was also excellent, and their raw, powerful, hard-rock sound seemed to be evolving… Then came the next 2 albums where their sound developed into a way more commercial – as well as a much more polished sound – with “Hysteria” being the 2nd of those two… Can’t blame them – as that recipe really worked for them – especially with females, and at least they did retain their hard-rock sound for the most part… Forgot just how good this album was, and how many songs made it to radio back in the day… Below are my favs in order - “Armageddon It” - 6-stars out of 7… “Animal” - 6-stars out of 7… “Rocket” - 5-stars out of 7… “Pour Some Sugar On Me” - 5-stars out of 7… “Hysteria” - 5-stars out of 7… “Love Bites” – 5-stars out of 7… “Love & Affection” – 5-stars out of 7… The vocals and harmonies are really well-done, even if the lyrics are pretty poppish, and basic – but musically it really pops – as I’m glad they were able to retain their hard-rock edge during this transition… There is pretty decent diversity throughout the album, and they definitely have an original sound for sure… As a drummer – I was incredibly impressed with Rick’s one-armed drumming on this album after his awful car accident a few years earlier… Got to see them in 2007, and he was even more impressive live… I do wonder if his more “electronic” sounding drum kit had something to do with kicking them into their more commercial/more produced sound – as the one element that they truly lost, was their rawness – but I doubt this album would have been as successfully from a commercial standpoint without it… 7 hit singles from this album is pretty damn impressive, and I’d probably give this a 4.25 if I could, but a healthy 4 in my book for sure – and glad I went back an listened to this one all the way through again, as it’s a great album…

Delicious strong cheese

I see that Wikipedia notes ominously that this hour-plus monster is the band's longest studio album... to date. This is the kind of thing that Bill and Ted probably like. It's also not unlike Spinal Tap. I These songs sound so similar that I'm reminded of Angus Young of AC/DC as well - "I'm sick to death of people saying how we've made eleven albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've put out twelve albums that sound exactly the same." I've just looked it up, and this came out 3 years AFTER This Is Spinal Tap! How did Def Leppard release this with a straight face? Maybe the answer is that they didn't, at least I hope not. It's still pretty likable, despite how incredibly uncool it is. It's some real dad rock, but also quite fun and well-intentioned, and a bit so-bad-it's-good.

This album was where I began to part company with the British Boys. I was a huge DefHead up through Pyromania, but this lost me. As crazy as it sounds to say they’d gone too commercial (that’s ALL they were), the Mutt Lange-ing of Hysteria got out of hand. Songs got bloated, lyrics got way dumber, and the whole pop-radio affair just didn’t appeal to headbangy l’il me. There were plenty of bangers, sure! But the goofy raggedy fun was lost. Ah well.

Honestly this is campy and fun, not enough for a four star but still.

One word: Cheesy

It’s the standard later 80’s hair/stadium rock music. It’s fairly uneventful and sounds the same as approximately 100 other rock bands from the time. Thankfully the 80’s finally put an end to the infatuation of band members trying to look and sound overtly feminine more than actually producing interesting music. The only song on this album that stands out from the rest is Love Bites...perhaps it being the only ballad and therefore different to the rest enhances it’s appeal but I genuinely think it’s still a standalone decent effort. Anyhoo...yawn. NEXT!

80s hair metal. An expansive sound with massive choruses combined with synth elements. An easy and enjoyable listen, and very 80s. A bit samey though and difficult to remember any particular song, possibly a result of the slick production, within which the actual songs get a bit lost. 3.5/5

Monster hooks, monster riffs, monster drum fills - the excess of the 80s are in full effect here. Whereas I tend to ding albums for sounding dated, somehow I enjoyed this album much more than expected - it's so over-the-top 1987. There's even a catch-all political track that encapsulates all of the "foreign threat" fears of the era - terrorism, civil unrest, Cold War, complete with a cameo from Ronald Reagan himself. A perfectly realized time capsule.

Might have had too much rock in my life to give this a great assessment but it didn't rock my socks off.

the album sounds like the soundtrack of 80s hardrock, not bad nowadays but not exceptionall either

Very corny… this type of music from the 80s really sucked

I don't care about the singles. I really can't abide 80s hair metal. Thar voice, those lyrics and that production massively suck. Shite

I wandered lonely as a cleft lip baby at a Pretty Little Miss USA competition. "Isn't she brave?", "She's a loser, Janet. An ugly little loser who's ruining the competition for everyone."

Hahaha it's like a piss take. I know it wouldn't be at the time, but now? Sheesh. Very much of its era. 80s movie montage. Rockin'. Yeah.

First listen, but I have long hated "Pour Some Sugar On Me," so this album had an uphill battle to fight. There is obvious craft and passion on display here, but it is not to my taste at all. The polished, squeaky-clean production and the perpetually-horny lyrics just don't jive. There is some enjoyment to be had with catchy melodies and some very nice vocal harmonies. Highlights: "Armageddon It," "Run Riot," "Hysteria," and the intro to "Gods of War".

Oh boy. I listened to this album a lot in high school. Despite the memories and nostalgia associated with this album, and how much I enjoyed it at that time, it's super mediocre. Extra point for nostalgia.

Not a good album, in an away I’m glad that this process hasn’t proven all my pre held opinions wrong. One plus point is that I felt like I was about to watch an episode of gladiators a couple of times.

Music to drink your first beer to 😎 (not too much though, it's a school night!!)

Just awful

As I'm writing this I'm praying to Chronos, the God of Time, to make it so the 80's never happened, so that neither would this album, or any albums like this one. Unfortunately that would also mean I'd never have been born, but as much as I love my life such is the sacrifice I'd be willing to make to spare people's ears from these horrible kakophonias.

It was just a few songs into this album that I became fully aware that 80s hair metal is just not for me. By the time I got to the title track "Hysteria" I was so over this album and just wanted it to end. How on earth did this have seven hit singles? The only remotely memorable song "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is filled with the same cheesy lyrics, over-the-top production, scratchy-voice vocals, and repetitive guitar riffs with basic solos that all the rest of the songs on this album have. Man, I do not understand how so many people love this genre and how this is considered among the best. Hated it.

80's opulence, manufactured image, coccaine, cockinesss, and all the obsolute worst aspects of western society in the 80's rolled into one terrible record.

80’s Rock at its best.

Absolutely smashing album. Every song is a gem.

Nei som eg koste meg med detta

This was a fun album! Great sound overall.

Very good album, classic

🤘🏻

Awesome…..hit after hit

Gotta love the cheesiest 80's rock ever!

Rocking single handedly

RAD

AHHH!!!!!!!

No notes, really. Just pure love. This is teenage memories in a can of Aquanet.

The work soundtrack of my dads favorite strippers

absolute masterpiece, first one of this list that 1000% belongs.

Muy bueno

My love of Def Leppard begins and ends with Pyromania, and my reasons for hating Hysteria are many. For brevity's sake I'll only name one. Having to watch the Hysteria video sandwiched between Coroner and Kreator on the headbanger's ball. But as much as I hate it, I have to admit that Hysteria is a masterpiece of pop metal absurdity. So 5.

In 1987-88 I was in Junior High and you would have typically seen me walking around in my Def Leppard tshirt and Acid Wash Jeans. I loved Def Leppard sooo much! I owned this album on vinyl, including all the 45 singles, cassette, and early compact disc. I had the Historia VHS, the In the Round Live VHS, the mail order Animal Instinct book. So this album is obviously still special to me. The first four albums are still very special to me. Let's not talk about the fifth album, Adrenalize, that is when I hung up my Def Leppard tshirt and Acid Wash Jeans for good.

Hell yeah!

A classic rock album that I'd never heard before, but feel that I can call it classic because it feels so relevant and listenable all these years after its release. Will definitely listen again, loved Animal.

Just when you thought they had put out their album that could never ve matched in pyromania, these dudes come out with one less arm on Rick the drummer (who I Idolize) and put out a back to back impossible perfect album. Even the b sides are insanely good

Maybe a bit long but so much fun

Very good upbeat, catchy album. Lots of great riffs and energy. Stand out songs - Animal, Hysteria, pour some sugar on me, don't shoot shot gun

It is not a strong 5 and probably I will not often relistening.

Ckassic 80s hair

I think Def Leppard, and this album specifically, is just 80s rock perfected. The really loud echoey drums, dense vocals, and everything sounds like it's being performed in a stadium. This album is full of really good songs, and then there's also Pour Some Sugar on Me, which I think is an elite song and one that is pretty timeless. For me, 90% of the album is 4 stars, and then Pour Some Sugar on Me gives it just enough of a boost to 5 stars. Favorite Song(s): Rocket, Animal, *Pour Some Sugar on Me*, Love and Affection

So much nostalgia. Still rocks.

rich

Amazing. Listened twice!

Good stuff! Never heard of them before listening to that album, really enjoyed the Hysteria song. It gave me sort of nostalgia feel like I had already heard the song a million times. Album saved!

So back in the late 80s or early 90s, my dad bought a CD player from one of his co-workers, along with his entire CD collection. It was packed with hair metal and glam rock albums from that era. During that summer vacation, my mom taught me how to use it while my dad was at work so I could keep myself occupied while she slept in. Hysteria was one of the many albums I started my music journey with. Listening to it again took me right back to those memories. Even though I’ve heard these songs more than enough times over the years, there’s definitely a strong sense of nostalgia attached to this album.

For 80s hair metal this might possibly be the GOAT

The pinnacle of the Hair Metal genre. This masterpiece had seven(!) smash hit singles that kept it on the radio for over a year and a half. Mutt Lange's meticulous production set it apart from the rest of the field, creating a sound with the widest possible appeal. Other Pop Music acts rose and fell while Def Leppard maintained its hold on the radio and MTV. "Hysteria" is a huge nostalgia bomb for me. "Hysteria" was a big part of my late high school years' soundtrack. School, jobs, girls, and weekend nights spent partying with friends were forever linked to songs from this album. Oh, yeah... did I mention that their drummer only had one arm? That's gotta be worth at least an extra half-star.

So much fun

This is an excellent album from cover to cover.

High school Soundtrack. We saw them twice on this tour.